Legislature Deals Setback to Mayor in Declining to Allow More Charter Schools

ALBANY, June 23 — As the smoke cleared in Albany, the Bloomberg administration's push to create more charter schools, a plan that was strongly backed by the governor, fell short. So did a plan to send millions of dollars to programs for needy families. And a proposal to allow early retirement for public workers.

For Gov. George E. Pataki, the biggest loss was the Legislature's refusal to lift the cap on charter schools. But it was an even bigger setback for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. He has made charter schools a top priority in his bid to revamp the city school system and has vowed to open as many as 75 more by the end of his term.

Earlier this year, the state reached its cap of 100 charter schools, so Mr. Pataki proposed increasing the number allowed statewide by 150.

And in Albany, where the saying goes that nothing is done until everything is done, Mr. Pataki tied his charter school plan with other programs in a last-ditch effort to get the Legislature to go along.

In the end, they all sank.

The city will be unable to open any of the planned charter schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein had so fervently sought. The defeat is even more stinging, given that Mayor Bloomberg had helped raise more than $41 million for the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence, a nonprofit group designed to help the city's 47 existing charters.

The final flurry of activity surrounding charter schools punctuated a contentious debate among both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who are divided in their support for the privately run and publicly financed schools.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat from Manhattan, had signaled that he would consider a charter school proposal, but he dug in his heels on Friday, saying that the governor was "holding poor people hostage" by tying federal funds for child care and welfare-to-work programs to the charter schools.

Earlier Friday, as he held out hope that an agreement was still possible, Mr. Pataki spoke of another nonprofit group in New York City that had raised millions to open a city charter school next year, invoking the support of both the mayor and chancellor.

"They are trying to help New York students," he said. "They don't have a slot to give them a charter. That is wrong. That should not be."

Republicans in the Senate had also been divided over charter schools this week, but the Senate approved the package deal proposed by the governor, which also included an early retirement incentive for state workers that the unions had fought for. Still, the bill had dim prospects of passing, since the Assembly did not even bring it to the floor for a vote.

Mr. Silver dismissed Mr. Pataki's charter school push as a play to the national arena as he eyes a presidential bid.

"We have a number of members who are absolutely opposed to any charters," Mr. Silver said. "I have told Mayor Bloomberg that the number and kind of charter schools he is looking for — there is no support in my conference."

Several Assembly members from New York City, particularly black and Hispanic legislators, had supported the increase in charter schools, viewing them as the best way to give parents in their districts a chance to get students out of struggling schools.

But the slow death of the proposal in the Legislature to increase the number of charter schools was complicated by a number of factors, even before Mr. Pataki's latest effort. Just as Assembly Democrats began to have discussions on the issue, a charter school advocacy group ran television and radio advertisements blasting several of the Assembly members over their opposition.

The advertisements frustrated city officials, who said the ads would merely stifle the debate in the Assembly. Mr. Silver told several members that they would not talk about the issue until the ads went off the air.

"There are so many ill feelings around the issue that it makes it impossible to have a conversation around the merits," said Darryl C. Towns, an assemblyman from East New York who has been a vocal advocate for the charters. "We were really feeling good about convincing other members, but that seems a long way off for now."

Despite the deadlock on charter schools — with Republicans recording their support and Democrats showing their opposition — both the unions and charter school advocates claimed a partial victory.

The only concession of a setback came from the city's Department of Education.

"Obviously, this is a big disappointment," said David Cantor, a spokesman for Mr. Klein. "Releasing the cap is one of our foremost goals."

A version of this article appears in print on , on page B5 of the New York edition with the headline: Legislature Deals Setback to Mayor in Declining to Allow More Charter Schools. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe